DOE Awards $7 Million to Reduce Electric Vehicle Charger Costs

DOE announced on December 21 awards totaling nearly $7 million in research and development funding that will help to reduce the current costs of electric vehicle chargers by 50% over the next three years. With DOE support, manufacturers in California, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania will work to improve the development and design of charging equipment. This research will promote "smart" charging capabilities that can help ensure electric vehicles enhance, rather than strain, existing electrical grid capacity.

Two of the four selected projects will focus on improving electric vehicle chargers that attach to consumers' homes and are used by the owners to charge their vehicles while they are at home. Two other projects will focus on chargers used at commercial and public locations to charge large numbers of vehicles, including commercial fleets of delivery vehicles.

Delta Products Corporation – Fremont, California DOE share: $1,997,450; Recipient share: $1,441,770Delta will streamline the development of residential electric vehicle chargers that rely on low-cost secure wireless networks that can connect the chargers directly to electric utilities. The project will work to minimize the cost of communications between the charger and the electric utility and, at the same time, meet the local demand for smart charging.

Siemens Corporate Research – Princeton, New Jersey DOE share: $1,617,619; Recipient share: $747,552Siemens will redesign its current electric vehicle supply equipment system and charging stations in residential areas to enable flexible, intelligent control of charging, so that power quality and service reliability are maintained on the local distribution grid.

General Electric Global Research – Niskayuna, New York DOE share: $1,362,318; Recipient share: $819,365General Electric will improve the design and infrastructure for commercial chargers for fleets of electric vehicles operated by companies, including FedEx.

Eaton Corporation – Moon Township, PennsylvaniaDOE share: $1,837,004; Recipient share: $991,418Eaton will develop and demonstrate commercial electric vehicle chargers that can work with and support the smart grid, including providing two-way communications with the electric utility and coordinating with a community’s smart meter network.